Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

I saw this book all over Instagram and Tik Tok with rave reviews, so I knew I had to read it. Hailed as some of the best world building since Lord of the Rings and having dragons involved are a sure-fire way to hook my attention.

Violet Sorrengail has spent all her life within the walls of Basgiath War College, spending all her time roaming the halls and getting lost among the towering library of the Scribe Quadrant. All her life she has been training to be a scribe, to live a quiet life free from danger but her mother has other ideas. Her mother, the Commander of the College, tells Violet that she will continue the family legacy and become a rider, the elite quadrant where cadets learn to ride dragons! So, Violet begins her journey to become a rider. Will fragile, weak Violet survive the harsh tests and lifestyle of the Rider Quadrant to graduate?

Violet soon finds that life as a rider is not as plain sailing as her siblings had made out, especially when every other cadet is trying to kill each other. On top of all this, Violet is also the target of a certain group of cadets, those whose parents lead the rebellion against Navarre, in particular Xaden Riorson, son of the rebel leader. He has more than enough reason to want Violet dead but for some reason, he has not killed her yet. Violet's resolve is tested when the time has come to be presented to the dragons. Will they find her worthy to bond with, or will she been seen as weak as she feels and be burnt to a crisp?

I really enjoyed reading Fourth Wing to a point. The first few chapters were very well written, and it has all the hallmark of other fantasy writing from previous years: Violet is the powerless female lead who finds that she has a hidden strength, Xaden is the mysterious rouge who is alluring but dangerous and dragons can communicate with only the elite. The writing was comfortable and had me hooked. I really wanted to know what happens next (even if parts were predictable). I loved the way the dragons were portrayed, and they had a bit more depth than some of the characters at times. I could really feel the sense of impending doom through the first twenty chapters or so, probably because the majority of Violet's story is her doubting herself at every opportunity, so as a reader, the risks of being a rider were present in the front of your mind a lot.

The downfall of Fourth Wing, in my opinion, is from chapter 30 onwards. The delightful story about bonding with dragons, finding your inner strength and surviving against the odds suddenly descends into what can only be describe as teen-esque fan fic smut. Maybe I’m being prudish, but the sudden change really caught me off guard and I questioned if I wanted to continue reading Fourth Wing. It was exciting to read about the connection between two main characters becoming something more but the way that it was all worded seemed very OTT and was obviously trying to capture a certain group of readers (the people that love smutty fantasy aka 50 Shades of Fae). The enthusiastic love chapters (and I mean a whole chapter where the same three body parts are mentioned over and over and over) seem to have been an afterthought in the story like the author suddenly realised towards the end of writing that she forgot to put it in. Luckily, the constant hanky-panky died down towards the final few chapters so it kind of ended on the same note Fourth Wing started on, so I give it credit for that.

Overall, Fourth Wing is an enjoyable read. It is not groundbreaking- I know I’ll get some hate for saying that- but it was enjoyable. The smutty chapters could have been toned down a bit and have been woven into the story better, but I suppose it did highlight the chemistry between the characters. If you like you like your stories about dragons, their human pets and some OTT love making, then Fourth Wing is the book for you.